Up for going a little further west? Lewis and Clark in Portland Oregon is a gorgeous campus. Yes, Portland is larger than ‘cute town’ but the college is in a more residential part of town so you can engage with the more urban parts of it or not as desired.
@Dolemite IMO South Hadley is a cute very little town and definitely walkable from MoHo (across the street). It has a number of restaurants (from sushi and ramen to West African to US/Tavern to deli to bistro to Chinese) and a lovely coffee shop, bookstore, frozen yogurt place, wine bar, movie theater, some boutique shops.
Many are hidden in the Village Commons complex so not visible on a drive-by.
I know it is “in” a city not near a city but you may want to take a look at the Rose Hill campus at Fordham. The campus itself sound like it would be up her alley as it is a beautiful, traditional Gothic campus with ample green space. It IS in the Bronx but students (my S graduated from Fordham) really did take advantage of the surrounding area including Arthur Avenue (with excellent restaurants, some bars etc.), running through the Botanical Gardens and things like that.
Lots of excellent suggestions above – ones I thought of were Lafayette (my D went there and loved it), Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, and Skidmore. Siena in upstate NY may be a nice safety (and they give merit aid and have a very quick turnaround for giving admissions results).
Would Siena College be a wise choice for an English or Psychology major such as OP’s daughter ?
@OHMomof2 We ventured in. I still wouldn’t call it a town. It’s tiny. Northampton on the other hand is pretty cool. It has some sketchiness but any place with cool is going to attract sketchy.
@Publisher When we visited those majors were not my S’s projected area of study but I got the sense that the school could provide a fine education in any number of liberal arts fields. If you know anything to the contrary feel free to chime in.
Siena College’s most popular majors: 15% Biology Technician / Biotechnology Lab Tech; 14% Accounting; 11% Marketing; 9% Management Science; 7% Finance.
Including some public LAC’s could be worth considering. St. Mary’s of MD is known for its cute town and lovely waterfront campus. UNC Asheville is in the south, yes, but both the town and the college are both quite liberal and everyone I know who has been to Asheville loves it. There’s also SUNY Geneseo - I’m not too familiar with what the town has to offer there, but maybe others can comment.
@washugrad I was watching a TV show and focused on “where is that beautiful college?” I thought maybe Canada but it was Lewis and Clark in Oregon, so pretty!
It may be too far but, Ft Lewis College in Durango Colorado is a public LAC that’s really likely to offer her some merit aid with a 3.7. The town is the epitome of cute, the campus is gorgeous and at less than 4k students it’s pretty small. it is in the mountains so it can get cold but, never really hot. My son is a sophomore and LOVES it.
The web cams don’t really do the campus buildings justice. It is a really cohesive architecture with what looks like loca stone facades on Its on a mesa above town so, you can see for miles in any direction. It is particularly spectacular when the aspens are yellow. The city has an old west feel, lots of nice restaurants There are several ski resorts and Mesa Verde National park in the area.
https://www.fortlewis.edu/Home/About/Campus-Webcam.aspx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3MUajtDPpk
There is local air service by United and American… it’s worth a trip whether she like the school or not.
I believe that Ft. Lewis offers free tuition to Native Americans.
Durango, Colorado’s natural beauty is spectacular.
Retention rate is not great, however.
P.S. Everyone loves the beauty of Lewis & Clark.
OP here. Thought 8’d give an update now that we’ve visited a lot of these schools. Here are her thoughts so far:
College of Wooster- liked it and the downtown. My concern is that it may be too academic. Saw it listed as a top 10 college for amount of homework.
Denison- didn’t like the campus as she thought it was too hilly. I loved the town. Off the list. .
Ohio Wesleyan- she loved the campus and the town. Some really beautiful buildings and a nice combination of older and modern. Only concern is the graduation rate is low.
Dickinson-she didn’t like all the streets running through the campus. Off the list.
Gettysburg- she liked the town and the school. I thought the campus was just okay. Didn’t seem that well maintained or landscaped but maybe looks better during the school year.
Muhlenberg- campus was just sort of “meh” for her. Tour seemed to totally focus on Theatre and music (not her interests at all). Area did not seem great. It’s a maybe.
Univ of Scranton- I loved it but she didn’t like the campus or the city. Academics seemed great. Off the list.
Ursinus- we all loved this campus. It was so well maintained and beautifully landscaped. Town was very small but it seemed like a nice safe area.
Susquehanna- we all loved this campus as well. Town was tiny but lots of stores/restaurants a couple miles away.
Haven’t visited yet- Loyola Md, Catholic Univ, Depauw, and St Olaf. Might add Skidmore as well. Not sure if we will tour any of these or not before apps or if she’ll apply to any of them.
We also visited:
High Point- stunning campus but no town and not sure at all about the academics.
Elon- loved the campus and academics seemed great. Lots to do in campus so lack of a town didn’t seem to be an issue for her.
Would love any other possible suggestions as she still feels like she hasn’t found “the one”. Keep telling her there isn’t necessarily the one, there are pros and cons to every school.
No other suggestions, but just so you know for most people there isn’t “the one” be all and end all college. In fact I think you are all better off if she has a list of schools she likes rather than having one seemingly perfect school. This way no one rejection or unaffordable school will be a devastating blow.
Like most everything in life selecting a college will be a matter of weighing options and making a choice that makes sense.
@happy1 that is exactly what I am trying to tell her. Find a group of schools you can see yourself at and then see what happens after admission and aid.
Rollins College in Winter Park, FL. Close to Orlando for the airport, sports, concerts, amusement parks, etc., but if you never want any of that you don’t have to leave Winter Park. The ocean and Daytona Beach are less than an hour to the east.
Loyola MD and Goucher are really right in the cities (Balt. and Towson) but are set off by themselves so if you don’t want to leave campus you can pretend the cities don’t exist. Malls, restaurants, etc are really right outside the gates. Catholic University is IN DC, so in a city.
@MAmom111 I was curious so I googled colleges where students study the most and I’d take that list with a grain of salt. Students at Wooster allegedly work harder than at Harvey Mudd, Brown, USMA, Wellesley, and Bowdoin? I am not convinced.
That isn’t to say it isn’t a great school with strong academics. We visited and were very impressed. On the campus visit, they emphasized the amount of support they extend to their students to help them succeed. It seemed like a happy, collaborative place.
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Try Colorado college, Colorado Springs is a little larger but it’s a nice area,
Lawrence University in Appleton, WI.
I’ve never been but people talk about how pretty Flagler College is.
Since OP is still searching, I’ll throw in a good word for Hope College in Holland, MI. The town of Holland (on Lake Michigan) is nice and there are lots of restaurants and shops right on the edge of campus. My D19 is an incoming freshman and she got to spend 10 weeks doing a paid summer research project on campus as a rising freshman. She also got lots of merit aid. It’s a Christian affiliated college so on the conservative side but not ultra conservative.
3Sailaway what about Marist?